Your current location

Professor Martin Boddy appointed Assistant Vice Chancellor

Issue date: 13 May 2010

Professor Martin Boddy has been appointed Assistant Vice Chancellor, Research, Business Engagement and Professional Development at the University of the West of England. This newly created role signals the University's strong commitment to partnership and collaboration with business and employers in the Bristol region, the South West and beyond.

Commenting on his new role, Martin said: “The competitive success and prosperity of Bristol and the South West have been driven by knowledge, enterprise and innovation. With its strong vocational focus and its excellence in applied research and consultancy UWE has already done much to contribute to the success of the region. But we can do a lot more and I see this new role as an exciting opportunity to help realise this ambition.” He went on to say “ I intend to work closely with businesses and employers, and with colleagues across the University to help us respond to the demands and needs of businesses and the region. This will include a focus on professional development and the skills needed in the region, new opportunities for collaboration in research and consultancy, and ensuring that our taught programmes and graduates meet the future needs of employers.”

Martin graduated from Cambridge with a first class degree and a PhD in economic geography. He worked for many years at the University of Bristol, with shorter periods of time in Australia and Canada, before joining UWE, Bristol in 2002. At UWE, previous roles have included Executive Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Technology and prior to that, Dean of the Faculty of the Built Environment – in both, he also led on Research and Consultancy.

In his new role, Martin will draw both on his extensive links with business and business organisations in the Bristol region and the South West. He is an economic advisor to the South West Regional Development Agency, Chair of the South West Observatory, a key source of information and expertise on economic, social and environmental issues in the region; and is an active member of the West of England Initiative, currently contributing to developing a vision for the Bristol region in 2050. He has a national and international reputation for his research and extensive published work on regional economics, skills and labour markets and regional development – which has included a focus on Bristol and the south west.

Martin will be based in the new Faculty of Business and Law which will provide a platform for his university-wide role as Assistant Vice Chancellor. He will be a member of the Faculty's Executive Team with particular responsibility for Research, Consultancy and Professional Development.

Professor Steve West, Vice-Chancellor said of Martin's appointed: “Martin has a formidable record of achievement in leading business-facing activities at Faculty and University-level. As he has shown in his time in Built Environment and more recently in Environment and Technology he is able to draw upon a quite unique network of business, professional and research contacts to deliver high quality results which make him eminently suitable for the top team at UWE.”